KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The McKendree University women's tennis team concluded its Spring Break slate of matches here Sunday as the Bearcats suffered a 7-0 setback to Northwest Missouri State University in a non-conference match at The Plaza.
With the setback, McKendree falls to 4-3 overall on the season, while Northwest Missouri State improves to 7-4 on the season.
The teams began Sunday's match, which was originally scheduled for this past Friday, but was postponed and rescheduled for Sunday, by playing doubles and NWMSU opened the the match by winning all three doubles matches as the Bearcats won just four games.
Northwest Missouri State won 6-1 at No. 1 doubles, 6-0 at No. 2 doubles and 6-3 at No. 3 doubles.
After doubles action, the Bearcats and NWMSU played singles and Northwest Missouri State would sweep all six singles matches to post the match victory.
Perhaps the match of the day in singles came at the No. 1 spot as junior
Viola Cipriani ((Arezzo, Italy/Liceo Classico Francesco Petrarca) and Vera Alenicheva battled through a hard-fought three set match. Cipriani would win the opening set, 6-4, but Alenicheve would battle back to win the second set, 6-4 to set up a third set. In the third set, the two players battled, but Alenicheve would ultimately outlast Cipriani, 6-3, in the set.
The Bearcats would also win four games at No. 2 singles as junior
Camilla Fonseca (Rio de Janerio, Brazil/Colegio Saber) fell 6-3, 6-1 to NWMSU's Julia Aliseda.
Sophomore
Maria Vitoria Salomao (Minas Geraids, Brazil/Belo Horizonte) would win four games at No. 3 singles over Tessa Kwakernaak as Salomao fell 6-4, 6-0.
The other singles match that the Bearcats of McKendree scored points in came at the No. 5 spot as junior
Mariana Caicedo Mora (Cucuta, Colombia/American International School of Mallorca) fell 6-1, 7-5 to Angela per Moreno.
Northwest Missouri State won the singles matches at No. 3 and No. 6 by identical 6-0, 6-0 scores.
McKendree will return to action on Saturday, March 26 as the Bearcats host Rockhurst University for an 11 a.m. match at Triad High School in Troy, Ill.
